1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a solar cell module including photoelectric converters, the surface of the light-incident side thereof being covered with a protective resin material. The invention relates also to the method for installing the solar cell module, for example on a roof.
2. Prior Art
The light-incident side surface of a solar cell module, including photoelectric converters, is covered with only a protective resin material film and a sealant. As a result this surface is often damaged before, during or after installation. While being transported before its installation, it may be damaged by vibrations and impacts, including those caused by falling objects. The solar cell module, including photoelectric converters, are typically bonded to a steel plate or a roofing tile for use, covered only with the protective resin film, without providing any optical glass plate on the light-incident-side surface. Damage is therefore easily caused, for example, by an impact from a tool dropped during installation of the solar cell module, from an impact during construction work by scaffolding after the installation, and by the impact of a falling object during the long term use.
As a result of such damage, water and moisture may get into the solar cell module, causing contamination. When the surface damaged solar cell module goes unrepaired during use, the contamination can lead to peeling of the sealant covering a surface of module at the light-incident side of the photoelectric converter and in the photoelectric converter. As the peeling advances, the additives in the sealant flow out, causing sealant deterioration. The sealant deterioration sometimes causes the properties of the solar cell module to deteriorate further. For example, when the damage is deep, not only is a ground fault caused through water, but also corrosion sometimes is caused in the photoelectric converter.
For preventing the problems caused by damage in the solar cell module surface from getting worse, various techniques for repairing the surface damage have been proposed (cf. JP P Hie. 11 (1999)-307799 A). The proposed techniques prevent moisture or contamination from getting into the solar cell module by covering the surface damage with an adhesive tape and such a repair prevents any damage to the external appearance of the solar cell module, keeps the solar cell module safe and reliable, and prevents the performance of the solar cell module from deteriorating.
In the solar cell module that includes a light-incident side surface covered with a resin, an emboss sheet is on the surface thereof to quicken deaeration in laminating the constituent layers for the solar cell and to further improve the moldability of the solar cell module. In this type of solar cell module, any unevenness in the embossed sheet is copied to the module surface, so that the module surface has peaks and valleys. Thus, when the damage caused in an uneven surface of the solar cell module is repaired with an adhesive tape, the tape is bonded by the adhesive to the solar cell module surface so as to stick only to the surface peaks where the surface is uneven, and so hardly sticks over the entire module surface.
In other words, according to the prior art, layers of air are left in the valleys on the uneven surface of the solar cell module beneath the bonding plane of the adhesive tape. Since water and contamination due to rainfall get into these air layers, the properties of the solar cell module are easily caused to deteriorate and in the presence of water, a ground fault is easily caused. The bonding portion of the adhesive tape is prone to peel due to the water and contamination, which accumulate in the air layers.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a solar cell module, including photoelectric converters, in which the light-incident side thereof is covered with a protective resin surface covering material, and a method for its installation that facilitates improving the adhesiveness between the module surface and the bonding portion of a repair material that prevents water and contamination from getting into the bonding portion, prevents the solar cell module properties from deteriorating, prevents ground faults through the water, and prevents the repair material from peeling.